Wizards pursue the truth

Chapter 167 [167] Becoming a Dark Star Eight Years Later

"What do you want from me?"

Wizard Is remained indifferent, her face expressionless, and she went straight to the point as soon as she entered the room.

Wang Ya had added some bean powder to the drink in front of him, which had frog legs hanging outside the cup. This added a touch of sweetness, and the liquid gradually changed from black to light blue.

Looking at the middle-aged man with purple hair sitting in the chair opposite him, Wang Ya didn't know how to address him for a moment.

She finally spoke, "Witch Yi Si, it's been a long time."

"Hmm!" the other person replied.

The sounds in the room suddenly ceased, and both of them fell silent, creating a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.

Wang Ya swallowed the words he wanted to say. He said stiffly, "Does Wizard Yi Si know anything about Wizard Tuta?"

Wizard Yi glanced at Wang Ya, seemingly surprised that he was asking about this matter.

"We haven't been able to contact Wizard Tuta since we were in the Ancient Forest Mountains."

"He's not at headquarters, but in the Eagle's territory, in the Green Mage City. If you want to find him, it's probably impossible. He took on a long-term mission and is serving there."

Wizard Yi said calmly. At this moment, his wizard's drink was ready and was brought over on a tray by the wizard waiter.

"I see." Wang Ya paused for a moment, then moved his lips again. "I wonder what Wizard Yi Si thinks of the recent internal investigation?"

Wizard Yi frowned, somewhat confused about Wang Ya's meaning. He said, "As the most outstanding new wizard, and having earned the title of Child of Darkness, you should strictly abide by and uphold the rules of the Dark Lands. Don't have any bad thoughts."

"Those people broke the rules and brought unfairness to everyone. They should be punished as they should be, without any changes."

"Everyone is treated equally under the rules and no one can have special privileges. Even formal wizards will face the same consequences if they violate the rules." Wizard Yi's tone was very firm, and on this point, he would not tolerate any wrongdoing.

"I understand, but I wonder when this internal search will be over." Wang Ya changed the subject, denying his inner thoughts.

That wizard shouldn't be Wizard Is. Back in the Ancient Forest Mountain, Wizard Is was a wizard who strictly upheld the rules.

"Who knows? Maybe a month, maybe three months. In any case, the interior must be thoroughly investigated." A cold smile appeared on Wizard Is's lips as she threw the spoon on the table and said, "I never imagined that there would be so many parasites inside the Underdark. If it's not cleaned up, it could take six months or even a year."

"The rules of the Underdark must not be violated by anyone; this is the very foundation of the Underdark's existence. If even we ourselves break the rules and lose fairness and justice, how can we attract wizards to the Underdark and allow it to continue?"

Wizard Is picked up the drink, gulped it down, and put it back on the table. She said calmly, "Your words have a hidden meaning. Although I don't know what you mean, as long as it doesn't break the rules, I don't care. You can think whatever you want."

Wang Ya stroked his chin, a smile appearing on his lips. "The three essential principles of wizardry are: equivalent exchange, bearing the consequences, and pursuing the truth. As a wizard of the Underdark, and a member of the Children of the Underdark, I naturally have to meet these standards."

Wizard Yi left after drinking the beverage.

Wang Ya tapped his fingers lightly on the table, suppressing all the thoughts in his mind, and muttered to himself, "Anyway, it has nothing to do with me. The internal search is something for those big shots to do. I just need to complete my wizard experiment."

Even if there are wizards who dislike him because of this search incident, they can't do anything to him while he's in the Dream Tower.

As for the information on the Dark Wizard's Mark, it had absolutely no effect on him.

His goal, however, is to explore the dark and mysterious realm a hundred years from now.

Advancing to become a third-level wizard apprentice is his most important task right now.

As for asking the wizard Tuta, it's because of the connection they had on the wizard's ship.

Now that he has some ability, he'll see if he can help and repay this favor.

"Witch Is said that Witch Tuta is in the territory of the Divine Eagle School and has signed a wizarding contract with the chief of the Divine Eagle School, and is now a wizard of the Divine Eagle School."

"Long-term mission, Qinggang Wizard City. It seems Gray has also joined the Divine Eagle School, displaying considerable talent in biological cultivation. That brown-skinned lizard has risen to the level of a mid-level transcendent creature."

Wang Ya shook his head, stopped thinking about these things, and got up to leave the room.

Harak Goods Store.

Wang Ya met with Mona again and exchanged a few words. He shared his views on the current situation at headquarters and kindly advised Mona not to go out for the time being.

Wang Ya bought a lot of things this time, and used up all the magic stones he had left.

Hades happened to be in the store as well, and because of his alliance with the Anton family, he gave Wang Ya a discount.

"Looks like he's going into seclusion. I wonder what kind of power boost he'll achieve this time." Hades said, watching Wang Ya's retreating figure. Mona, standing beside him, bit her lip, also deciding to go into seclusion to try and complete the outline of the wizard runes.

The distance to becoming a second-level wizard apprentice is not far for her.

Of the four, she was the weakest, but she didn't want to remain the weakest and fall behind.

The Tower of Dreams.

Wang Ya first went to Maple Forest and retrieved some of the things he had buried.

He now possesses enough dream power to support the existence of these dream world creations.

The material used for the log bridge, when burned, produces black smoke with an odor that attracts dream creatures.

The corpses of some special dream creatures can serve as preliminary experiments for Wang Ya's infinite dream genome.

Subsequent experiments can only be conducted in the dream world.

"Teacher, I am prepared to go all out and break through to the third level of wizard apprentice in the shortest possible time." Wang Ya felt deeply that his strength was insufficient. The strength of a second-level wizard apprentice was too limiting in whatever he did.

Third-level wizard apprentices are already considered the backbone of the major wizarding forces.

As the maple leaves gathered, the figure of the Dream Wizard materialized. He could naturally see the dream world aura on Wang Ya, which clearly indicated that he had only recently entered the dream world.

"I didn't expect you to try to take root in the dream world so quickly." The expression behind the Dream Wizard's wooden mask showed surprise, followed by a laugh.

He was naturally extremely pleased with his disciple's outstanding performance.

It can be said that accepting Wang Ya as his disciple was the best decision he ever made.

"Your potential is far, far greater than Kelan's. When she tried to establish herself in the dream world, it took her more than ten or twenty years to cultivate the path of a dream wizard."

The Dream Wizard continued, "I know your troubles. The dream world is bizarre and unpredictable, especially the wilderness, which is full of dangers, some of which are undetectable. While establishing yourself in the dream world, you are very likely to attract a gathering of dream creatures and be attacked by them."

"This may be an instinctive behavior of the dream world. The actions of the dream wizard to take root are equivalent to occupying a part of the dream world and absorbing and transforming dream power, just like a mosquito sucking blood."

"When a normal person encounters a mosquito biting their blood, feels itchy, or sees it, they will try to swat it to death."

The Dream Wizard told Wang Ya about the taboos of taking root in the dream world.

He naturally doesn't need to worry about this, because he is currently a native being of the dream world.

"First, you can't stare at the sky for too long, especially into the depths of the celestial dome. When you see it, it will see you too, and you'll be swatted like a mosquito, suffering from irresistible mental pollution. The best outcome would be like mine."

The Dream Wizard did not elaborate on this point.

Wang Ya also understood that this was probably the most likely reason why the Dream Wizard became a native of the Dream World.

"Second, ignite the 'Black Curtain Licorice.' The white smoke it produces can dispel dream creatures. To dream creatures, this is equivalent to feces—extremely foul and disgusting, although it cannot cause any harm."

The Dream Wizard seemed to have been prepared all along. He snapped his fingers lightly, and a pile of long, black licorice roots appeared in front of Wang Ya.

"Third, the rooting process is extremely difficult and often involves many failures. However, once successful, it is necessary to protect the rooting point. Before it grows into a sufficiently powerful dream territory, it is the most delicious food for dream creatures, containing a large amount of dream power and extraordinary spiritual power of the dream wizard, as well as a part of their consciousness and soul."

Wang Ya left Maple Forest with a bunch of shady dealings.

The Tower of Dreams.

Wang Ya placed the purchased items—a large quantity of extraordinary potions and materials to enhance physical fitness—on the cabinet and categorized them.

Physical attributes are related to the amount of particle energy. After acquiring advanced witchcraft, Wang Ya needs more particle energy within his body.

The progress of the Dream Recall Meditation Technique remains steady, and Wang Ya has already made preparations for the aspects required for the wizard experiment.

Everything was ready, and Wang Ya was not lacking any favorable conditions; all the necessary preparations had been made.

The Dream School is overseen by Wizard Kolan, who handles the school's daily affairs.

Two other lineage wizards were assisting the wizard, Kolan.

He sealed off the three layers of space and shut down the notifications from the Dark Medal, and began to devote himself entirely to studying his wizarding path.

Meanwhile, outside, the headquarters' massive search operation was in full swing.

As each wizard returned to headquarters, they faced punishment from the Rules of the Ward. The lighter punishments included dismissal and fines, while the heavier ones resulted in the removal of their Underworld wizard status and relegation to the status of Wild Wizards.

The most serious consequence, of course, is death.

There was also considerable turmoil. Some wizards, knowing that the outcome would be death, chose not to return to their headquarters and instead hid in the mortal kingdom. Unfortunately, in the end, they were still found by the headquarters' law enforcement wizards, who, together with the law enforcement wizards of the wizard city, killed the corresponding traitors on the spot.

As long as you remain within the territory of the Underdark, the Underdark Wizard's Mark will act as a locator, and you will be found no matter where you hide.

Cutting off the hand is useless, and so is witchcraft. This is bound to the soul, and the soul is unique as a whole. Even witchcraft has a hard time accurately cutting off the soul from the wrist.

Inevitably, this caused harm to mortals, and several mortal kingdoms were even destroyed because of battles between wizards.

Some wizards, unwilling to give up, tried to leave the Underdark and travel to the territories of other wizarding factions, but before they even reached the halfway point, they were caught up by law enforcement wizards and executed on the spot.

Without teleportation arrays, it's absolutely impossible to outrun the law enforcement wizards by flying alone.

Some wizards who made mistakes in border wizard cities seized the opportunity and successfully entered other wizarding factions.

When a whale falls, all things come to life.

This search operation stirred up the entire Underdark and attracted the attention of surrounding wizarding forces.

For some wizards, this is also an excellent opportunity.

Vacant positions represent vested interests.

As for how to distribute the fruit, that depends on how the official wizards arrange it.

The wizards of the Wizarding Family Alliance are watching closely, as are the wizards of the lineages within their respective schools.

They can choose not to take it, but they also cannot give it to the Wizarding Family Alliance (the school of thought) so that they can profit from it.

After March.

The internal search operation has finally come to an end.

Apart from a few wizards who left the Underdark from the border wizard city, all the other wizards who made mistakes were punished according to the rules.

Throughout the Underdark, from top to bottom, many of the positions have seen changes in personnel.

More often than not, these positions are vacant and temporarily filled by higher-level positions or temporarily filled by deputy-level officials.

Upon receiving news from the Dream Wizard, the Wizard of Coran secretly invited the Wizard of Is to meet with him.

Also present were Penny Stark, head of House Stark, and Ockham Mad, head of House Mad.

When the two heard the news, their hearts skipped a beat. Finally, they gritted their teeth and went to Dream Lake, where they met Dream Wizard together with Wizard Yi Si.

It wasn't until a day later, when the morning light shone through, that the three of them left Xinmeng Lake with frosty expressions.

Three days later, the Divine Blood Wizard personally took action, capturing one of his lineage's ultimate wizard apprentices and sending him to the wizard prison.

The once calm water surface was stirred up again, and this time it crashed down like a giant boulder.

Even the existence of a Limit Wizard Apprentice has broken the rules and has been sentenced by the Rules Oversight Bureau to 120 years of hard labor in the Corrupted Bone Secret Realm.

The punishment was the most severe, and the wizards of this headquarters were terrified at the mere mention of it.

The Bone Rot Secret Realm is no good place; any wizard who goes there has almost no hope for their wizarding career.

The rules of the Underdark were once again established in the hearts of the wizards of this faction, and unconsciously, their cohesion and sense of identity increased significantly.

The Ghostlight Wizard saw everything, and a smile appeared on his lips. The Nightmare Wizard, who was standing in the shadows of the room, glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, his brows twitched slightly, and then he looked away.

next month.

A notice was issued in the Underdark, and all wizards received the message through the Underdark Mark.

[Wanted Notice: Denor Laufey, a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice and former wizard of the Bone lineage, has violated the rules of the Underdark. All Underdark wizards are entitled to arrest him, regardless of his life or death.]

[Wanted Notice: Beta Berkeley, an apprentice wizard of the highest order, is the head of the Berkeley family, one of the ten great wizarding families. He and the entire Berkeley family betrayed the Underdark, murdering law enforcement wizards with cruel methods and resisting law enforcement. All Underdark wizards are authorized to apprehend any member of the Berkeley family, regardless of their life or death.]

Kazean saw an opportunity, a chance for the Anton family to rise in rank.

The disappointment of failing to find the Black Sun Ruins and discovering a fake one was overshadowed by this news.

Instead, excitement and anticipation replaced it.

Whale fall, all things come to life.

The Berkeley family brought this upon themselves.

Beta Berkeley, unwilling to live a dignified life, rebelled, leading his entire family to fight against the Underdark.

Someone will naturally help them save face.

"You're really ruthless, making everyone in the family run away separately to buy time to leave the Dark Lands. Unfortunately, you completely underestimated the horror of the Dark Lands, no, it should be the horror of the formal wizards."

After learning the details, Kazeantun's face showed a hint of emotion.

A familiar face I often saw in projection meetings, I never saw again.

The Berkeley family is finished.

Within the clan's territory, Zak'Anton and Hades'Anton arrived as promised.

"I think you two already know about the Berkeley family's affairs."

Kazeantun cut to the chase, saying, "One of the ten spots for the top families has become vacant, and I've decided to mobilize more of the family's resources to search for the location of the ruins recorded on the Black Sun Medal."

"The Berkeley family's situation is still developing, and the vacant spot is definitely being watched by many people. Our Anton family can only say that we have a certain chance of getting the spot."

Kazeantun sighed. "In the end, I still lack the strength. The Black Sun Ruins was a turning point. I need your power, Zak."

Kazean's gaze fell on Zak'an, whose face showed a hint of astonishment, and a strange emotion arose in his heart.

For a moment, they didn't even have time to react.

"Father, Father... I... What should I do?" Zak'Antun said nervously, glancing at his father's face out of the corner of his eye.

All that could be seen was the thoughtful and solemn expression on Kazeantun's face.

"I need to use your puppetry magic to create a large number of puppets to explore the Black Sun Ruins. This will save us a lot of time."

"Two or three years have passed, and we still haven't made a single clue. I'm sure our allies are getting impatient."

Zakantun nodded quickly and said, "Father, don't worry about it, leave it to me. I will definitely do my best, better than anyone else."

The eerie particle energy filled the entire world, colliding with the particle energy of the white bones on the other side.

boom!

The collision of bio-force fields between ultimate wizard apprentices was terrifying; dust and vegetation were all squeezed into nothingness by this pressure.

"Deno, your strength has increased, but your aura is very abnormal. You are no match for me. Surrender and you may still have your life."

The wind pressure blew down the robes and hair of Wizard Is. He stood in mid-air, looking down at the disheveled Wizard Denor below, whose robes were torn and who was panting heavily.

The wizard Deno looked much older than before, his face was extremely ferocious, his veins bulged, and his pupils were bloodshot. He was clearly in a very bad mood.

Instead of answering the question posed by Wizard Yi Si, he relentlessly channeled the energy of the bone particles, unleashing a series of terrifying spells that engulfed Wizard Yi Si.

Tomorrow I will face certain death.

The sorcerer Yi Si's usually icy face was touched, as if she were recalling the days she had spent with the White Bone Clan.

The wizard Denor was helpless, and he was filled with worry.

So many years have passed, yet friendship has never been absent.

His raised right hand even trembled slightly. He knew that if he swung it down, the result would be that the wizard Denor would be swallowed up by the energy of the white bone particles and turned into bone, and completely killed.

"Why break the rules? Why do you do this?!"

Wizard Is sighed deeply.

The opponent achieved a temporary breakthrough in strength by burning away life force and vitality, but it was still extremely shallow. Against a true master wizard apprentice, he would be easily defeated.

Wizard Is's trembling right hand hardened, her expression solemn and resolute. She almost gritted her teeth as she spoke, "The rules cannot be violated by anyone, whether it's you, me, or a formal wizard. There is only one outcome: punishment according to the rules."

"Farewell, old Denor!!"

The right hand gently fell.

Chi Chi!

Behind them, the energy of white bone particles, which occupied half the sky, the earth, and the forest, transformed into surging waves that swallowed up the seemingly magnificent intermediate-level witchcraft and a few advanced-level witchcraft.

Until the wizard Denor was completely swallowed up as well.

Click!

His original skin transformed into bone, spreading from the inside out. When it reached his face, the wizard Denor regained his composure, smiling as he looked at the wizard Is, opening his lips as if to say something. It seemed to be five words: "Be careful."

The wizard Yi Si did not hear clearly and had difficulty interpreting the lip movements.

Be careful of what?

Looking at the bone statue of the wizard Deno, the wizard Is took a deep breath and carefully placed it into the wizard's ring.

When news of the death of the wizard Denor spread throughout the Underdark, it did not generate much discussion.

In addition to the White Bone lineage's chief wizard, Shoggoth, personally taking control, the wizard Is's act of sacrificing his own family for the greater good shocked many wizards.

In his heart, he silently ranked the witch Yi Si as the one he should not provoke.

The Berkeley family wizards have been captured one after another recently. Some have been killed, while others have been imprisoned in the wizarding jail. As for their fate, it is estimated that none of them will be very good.

This is an open act of defiance against the Underdark, a betrayal of the Underdark.

According to the rules, he must be executed.

"The Dark Wizard Mark of Beta Berkeley has disappeared. Only wizards skilled in the arts of soul, consciousness, and illusion could have done this."

"The Siren Wizard has already divined that Beta Berkeley is still within the territory of the Underdark, in the direction of the Eagle's territory, but it seems to be hiding. The exact location will require divination, and the price to pay will be considerable."

The Dream Wizard converses with the Gloom Wizard on a dream level through a unique dream perspective.

"Let the Divine Eagle Wizard keep an eye on things and send more Limit Wizard Apprentices over there to carry out patrol missions. Also, activate the headquarters' law enforcement patrol team and have them inspect the major wizard cities every now and then."

"That's a good idea," the Ghostlight Wizard agreed, adding, "However, your disciple's previous task has brought me back another big problem."

The expression beneath the Dream Wizard's mask revealed a hint of helplessness; he knew what the Ghostly Wizard was referring to.

Deep within that valley, in that dark cavern, there must be a passage leading to the underground Demon Mountain.

The Demon Mountain has always existed in the underground world, an unfathomable wonder. Its entrance passage appears periodically in random locations across the Wizarding World, its pattern unpredictable; it could even appear directly in the ocean.

As for how to deal with it, the only option is to fence it off.

Anyway, there's nothing inside, and any creature that gets close will die. We can only wait for it to disappear on its own after many years.

The Dream Wizard still managed to secure some benefits for his disciple, including credit for the internal search and the discovery of Demon Mountain, among other things.

A smile appeared on the childlike face of the Dark Wizard. "If Wang Yahalak can complete another A-level mission, he will be the first Dark Child to be promoted to Dark Walker. If he can complete another A-level or S-level mission, I will make an exception and promote him to Dark Star."

The Dream Wizard was genuinely surprised. Dark Star was now considered their equal in status, though that was just a figure of speech.

However, their privileges and such are truly almost identical to those of a formal wizard.

The Underdark will also keep no secrets from the Underdark Star.

Among the ultimate wizard apprentices, the fastest progress is only that of the Child of Darkness, who is still far from having the quest experience to become a Darkwalker.

"The Spectral Wizard, this is quite a grand gesture." The Dream Wizard's tone shifted again, "If it's accomplished, becoming a Dark Walker or a Dark Star won't be a good thing for Wang Ya."

The Wizard of Gloom smiled faintly and said, "This is not a good thing for ordinary wizards, but it is very different for a wizard like King Yahalak."

"A mediocre person is not envied. Since you have the ability and potential, you are naturally qualified to receive the corresponding honors."

"Does the Dream Wizard lack confidence in his disciple?"

The Dream Wizard said meaningfully, "The Dark Lineage's inheritor wizard, that little fellow named Polaris, is also quite impressive. He was able to endure so much danger in the Dream Garden, and his ability to withstand even greater danger than Wang Ya's is already stronger than Wang Ya's."

"They're just relying on their strength. A third-level wizard apprentice is not the same as a second-level wizard apprentice." The Ghost Light Wizard began to dismiss them. "Alright, Dream Wizard, let's settle it like this."

"I'm really looking forward to Wang Yahalak's performance. After all, the future of the Underdark depends on these young people."

Heart Dream Lake, the Dream Wizard whose consciousness and body have returned to the surface of the lake, his expression beneath the mask, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.

We still need to rely on young people.

I'm afraid even if a young person lived for another ten thousand years, they still wouldn't outlive this old monster.

He knew some of the secrets of the Spectral Wizard, and even had some guesses about the Sleeping Dark Wizard.

However, this is only speculation.

"You can't fight city hall, kid Wang Ya. Let's see if you can handle this."

"As expected, the bosses are all dirty; they're really good at playing the balancing game."

The Dream Wizard was certain that the Gloom Wizard would definitely be on the wizarding family's side and say the same thing, but as to whom he would say it, that was hard to say.

Time has passed, and things have changed.

Eight years later.

P.S.: The Insight Project has come to an end, though it wasn't entirely satisfying, but this volume has a proper beginning and end. In the new volume, I'll strive to refine the plot, pacing, and writing style further.

(End of this chapter)